Japan’s Stealth Fighter Prototype Should Finally Fly in February https://t.co/L3MBvVJytH

Japan’s Advanced Technology Demonstrator-Experimental, also known as the ATD-X or X-2, will fly from Nagoya Airport to Gifu Air Base at the end of February, according to the Japanese defense ministry. This will be the first flight of the high-tech testbed and a major step toward Tokyo’s plans for a domestic stealth fighter. The Ministry of Defense had planned for the prototype to fly back in 2014, but early last year ministry officials reported that issues with engine restarts had forced a delay to the end of 2015. Reports at the end of last year then suggested a January flight, but articles in the Asahi Shimbun on Jan. 13 and in the Nikkei on Jan. 20 seem to confirm a flight in February. The aircraft is currently under the control of the project’s prime contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, at their Komaki Minami Plant near Nagoya. ATD-X is already undergoing ground-ba...